Spain ends Covid state of emergency

Published
0

Spain has lifted a state of emergency in place since October to fight the pandemic, allowing Spaniards to travel between regions for the first time in months.

“It's like New Year's,” said 28-year-old Oriol Corbella in Barcelona, where the lifting of the curfew was met with shouts, applause and music.

Although the emergency measure, which expired at midnight (2200 GMT Saturday) will lead to more freedoms, it is a headache for the country's 17 regional governments responsible for health care.

The state of emergency provided them with a legal framework to impose measures — such as nighttime curfews or a ban on non-essential travel between regions — that limited freedoms.

People celebrate on a street in the neighbourhood of Born, as the state of emergency decreed by the Spanish government to prevent the spread of coronavirus gets lifted in Barcelona, Spain on Saturday. — Reuters
People celebrate on a street in the neighbourhood of Born, as the state of emergency decreed by the Spanish government to prevent the spread of coronavirus gets lifted in Barcelona, Spain on Saturday. — Reuters

Opinion

Editorial

Need for dialogue
06 Aug, 2026

Need for dialogue

THE interior minister’s comments at an Islamabad seminar last week have sparked many a conversation about the ...
Bad press
06 Aug, 2026

Bad press

THE government’s move to impose restrictions on international media will not only alienate the foreign press, it...
Automobile concerns
06 Aug, 2026

Automobile concerns

PAKISTAN’S automobile industry is at a critical juncture. Sharp cuts in tariffs on the import of completely built...
State of confusion
Updated 05 Aug, 2026

State of confusion

FROM the looks of it, America has no exit strategy to extricate itself from the disastrous war with Iran. US...
Pension decision
05 Aug, 2026

Pension decision

THE government’s decision to formally operationalise the new Defined Contribution Pension Fund Scheme is a step...
Preventable deaths
05 Aug, 2026

Preventable deaths

THE deaths of 144 children from measles and diphtheria in Karachi during the first seven months of the year expose a...